Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 5,832 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 5,832 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Ventas were worth $3,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VTR. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

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Ventas Stock Up 0.6 %

VTR traded up $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.80. 2,599,594 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,662,140. The stock has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 356.88, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $66.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.50. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Profile

Ventas Inc NYSE: VTR is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.